Indians were referred to as "Hindus" in ancient times and the two terms were fairly synonymous. However, large parts of the country passed under Islamic rule and under Portuguese, French, Dutch and British rule. Millions of Hindus were converted to Islam and Christianity, by 1947 approximately 25% and 1.5% of the population of the Indian Subcontinent had converted to Islam and Christianity respectively. While Hindus converted to other religions, they themselves refused to accept any converts. Thus, most indigenous Muslims and Christians are descended from Hindu and Buddhist Indian ancestors.
The social structure of the Hindu society put some communities/castes at a severe disadvantage in all matters. Islam and Christianity offered these communities social equality and so several Low Caste Hindus and tribals left their ancestral beliefs.The invading Muslims also offered a choice between Islam and death to the inhabitants of Hindu areas. The stories of cruelty and barbarianism of Islamic rulers are folklore among the Hindu masses of India. Similarly, in the Portuguese ruled part of Goa, Catholicism was often forced upon the Hindus and Muslims there. It is estimated that the 8 century long Islamic rule witnessed the massacre of 80 million Hindus. This is the root cause of the on-going Hindu-Muslim fued in South Asia.
Hindus were not allowed to marry Muslim women unless they converted to Islam while Muslims could easily marry Hindu women. Emperor Jehangir(1605-1628 C.E.) ordered approx. 400 Hindu families of Northwest Punjab to convert to Islam since their men had married Muslim women.Those Hindus, who interacted with Muslims or Christians, were often excommunicated. For instance, the court musicians of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah ‘Rangila’, who were Brahmins, faced great ostracism from Hindus and were forced to convert to Islam. Their descendants are the famous Dhrupad singers- Dagar brothers. Similary, an entire community of Hindus were declared outcastes by neighbouring Hindus in Vasai (Thane district of Maharasthra) after they accidently drank water from wells that had been polluted by pieces of bread that had been thrown into them intentionally by the Portuguese. Hindus also stopped admitting non-Hindus into Hinduism and even to this day many Hindus oppose the idea of converting non-Hindus to Hinduism. Thus, conversion was a one way traffic from Hinduism to other faiths.
The social structure of the Hindu society put some communities/castes at a severe disadvantage in all matters. Islam and Christianity offered these communities social equality and so several Low Caste Hindus and tribals left their ancestral beliefs.The invading Muslims also offered a choice between Islam and death to the inhabitants of Hindu areas. The stories of cruelty and barbarianism of Islamic rulers are folklore among the Hindu masses of India. Similarly, in the Portuguese ruled part of Goa, Catholicism was often forced upon the Hindus and Muslims there. It is estimated that the 8 century long Islamic rule witnessed the massacre of 80 million Hindus. This is the root cause of the on-going Hindu-Muslim fued in South Asia.
Hindus were not allowed to marry Muslim women unless they converted to Islam while Muslims could easily marry Hindu women. Emperor Jehangir(1605-1628 C.E.) ordered approx. 400 Hindu families of Northwest Punjab to convert to Islam since their men had married Muslim women.Those Hindus, who interacted with Muslims or Christians, were often excommunicated. For instance, the court musicians of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah ‘Rangila’, who were Brahmins, faced great ostracism from Hindus and were forced to convert to Islam. Their descendants are the famous Dhrupad singers- Dagar brothers. Similary, an entire community of Hindus were declared outcastes by neighbouring Hindus in Vasai (Thane district of Maharasthra) after they accidently drank water from wells that had been polluted by pieces of bread that had been thrown into them intentionally by the Portuguese. Hindus also stopped admitting non-Hindus into Hinduism and even to this day many Hindus oppose the idea of converting non-Hindus to Hinduism. Thus, conversion was a one way traffic from Hinduism to other faiths.
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